Sanity
by Blueh
Summary: Ace and Luffy had had enough—they'd just been in a war, now battered, bloody and overall exhausted, they find themselves catapulted across dimensions into another war. Well, the end of one anyway. There they meet people who might just be able to understand their situation a little more than they originally thought.
1. Unexpected

**New story! Please read the A/N at the end ;w;**

* * *

The blue light never dimmed.

Fury knew this, yet he couldn't help but stare at the curious object in front of him as he inspected it thoroughly. The Tesseract's light blue light should've been calming, almost like a peaceful, spring day in the beach. Or maybe a calming summer afternoon along the lake in the park.

But it wasn't; it was like the calm before a storm, the same blue that you saw before you loved ones were ripped under you and you're thrown out into the world alone. The same blue that mocked you ask you walked down the street that used to be your home before everything happened.

It intrigued Fury to no end; how something so powerful and mysterious was in such a small box. They might never know the secrets it contained (Hell, if they did then that would mean an apocalypse).

The scientists had claimed that the Terreract was stable, not a threat at the moment. Fury almost snorted at the ridiculousness to that one sentence. The terreract was _never _stable. One moment it could be like it was right now, calm and peaceful, but the next moment it'll turn into a deadly wave of pure energy.

Something that could destroy _everything. _

Fury knew this, he'd always had this knowledge lodged somewhere deep inside his brain. He didn't want to admit it, but he was curious for how long this thing would stay calm. How long before it would surely blow up in everyone's faces.

It _was _going to happen someday, Fury had no doubt about that. It was just the question of _when _and _how. _

How many people will die? How will this affect the world? How will they deal with it?

And even though Fury had the most information out of pretty much anything, he couldn't answer these miffing questions. No one could, not even the Tesseract itself because god dammit if it knew anything—if it was _alive_—Fury would not hold back. Secrets had to be revealed, weather or not they're good secrets is the question.

A hum emitted from the strange, blue cube. Fury looked at it with a sharp eye, not moving but preparing himself for what's to come. Was this going to be when it explodes? Is this going to be when hell breaks loose and no one will survive? Ha, even as a super agent—one above all others—he couldn't defend himself from the unknown, no matter what resources he had.

The only reason they had survived the war of New York was because the Chitauri were stupid—nothing without their masters. They were weak alone, but together they packed a massive punch. One that could've possibly taken over the world.

But they didn't; Loki had given himself away before that.

Loki was not a stupid god. If fact, his plan was rather smart. But he got careless, eager and impatient. That was his downfall.

It all came down to how long before he snapped.

Oh! And did the bastard snap. With one move, he had told Fury all that he needed to know without saying anything. Loki made a mistake; one that cost him his freedom and his victory.

The blue tesseract hummed again, this time something akin to white lightning flashed across it's surface. Fury's eye hardened as he stood up from his chair and walked over to the cube to study it closer.

Something was wrong. Something was _very, very _wrong.

But what?

The scientist had long since gone back to their computers, yelling orders and scurrying about the lab, looking for possible explanations to _why _the cube had suddenly decided to act up. Why now? What was happening?

He could her them shout; he saw some of the agents in the corners of the room shift uneasily. They backing into the darkest corners, eyes glaring at the object in the center of the room that had suddenly chosen to ignite.

They were all watching. Waiting.

It was a game. All of it was a sick, _sick _game.

"Director Fury!" One of the scientists had run to his side, voice concerned. The man's white lab coat was draped over his body and he wore a mask like all the other scientists that occupied the base. His ID card flicked a his side before it stilled, fluttering ungracefully back to it's owner. "The Tesseract suddenly reacted, but we don't know what it's doing. It would be save to move away from the object for now. It is no longer stable."

Fury's cold eyes landed on the man, his brow creasing before his mask was back on before anyone could notice. He sat up carefully, staring down at the man that only went up to his chin. "The Tesseract was never stable." He said simply, voicing one of it's earlier thoughts but he allowed the man to lead him to where the scientists deemed 'safe' for the time being.

Fury glanced back, noticing all the agents slowly backing up as well. Jumping to new positions, getting ready for an attack. It was like Loki's arrival all over again, but this time they were somewhat prepared. They moved to the shadows, loading bows or possibly arrows.

He had no Avengers with him this time, this was just suppose to be a check up on his main facility. But it wasn't; now it was a warning.

Fury knew somewhere deep down that he would have to gather the Avengers once more. Call it instinct; maybe reason. But it was bound to happen; after all, didn't everyone need some super heroes to clean up super messes?

Fury glanced back once more before the Tesseract would be out of sight. The blue object was now humming loudly, lightning flashing inside the glowing blue orb ever so often. But that wasn't what caught his attention. It was how the object was turning red; blood red.

Like arteries, the color seeping into the Terresact, flashing more and more often. For a second, Fury imagined it like lava, deadly and destructive beyond what was comprehendible, but then his thoughts fluttered to the red, thinking of blood.

Like blood on a battlefield.

A war.

A war was raging on, but it wasn't here.

And just like that the cube was back to its normal blue color, calm once again. No more humming, no more lighting, no more blood.

Fury's head disappeared behind a wall, and that was that. He followed the scientist upstairs, approaching his escape route. The black helicopter was already on; it's deadly blades spinning.

An agent in black walked up to him, as he was lead to the chopper. It was a woman, someone with sharp eyes and good senses, one of Fury's best agents. Her hair was pulled into a sharp ponytail, something that wasn't uncommon. Her eyes were full of respect for the commanding officer. "Director Fury." She said calmly, yet she spoke loudly enough to be heard over the helicopter. "The Tesseract has calmed, but we advise you to evacuate. It isn't stable currently."

"I know," He told her, grabbing a handle and pushing himself onto the chopper. "Take care of things here, understood?"

"Understood, sir." She gave him a salute and briskly walked off as Fury shut the door and put on his helicopter headsets. Fury watched her as she disappeared below, possibly going back to check on the scientists that were left in charge of the powerful cube.

He continued to stare at the direction of the building even long after it had faded from sight. Only then did he press his ear, activating one of his many communication devises. "Agent Hill, do you read me?"

_"Yes, sir." _The female replied on the other side of the device.

"Contact the Avengers. Tell them that I'm not quite done with them yet."

_"Of course, sir."_

And the line went slack, leaving Fury alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Hell was a thing that everyone experiences in a lifetime. He couldn't say it was a natural occurrence, but with Monkey D. Luffy you never really know. One moment you might be with your nakama, the next going on a wild goose chase to save his brother from this so called 'hell'.

Despite that, the boy could defiantly see why they called this place hell.

He understood even more as he stood on the battleground of Marinford, desperately trying to save his light. His friend. His _brother._

One marine after the other. They all fell eventually, for some it just took time. Time and energy.

Both of with the young D couldn't afford to lose.

But then the man with the weird mustache yelled something and all the pirates around his cried out in fear. Luffy didn't understand. Luffy didn't hear.

But when those blades descended on his brother's head, Luffy knew exactly what was going on. He was not stupid, he was dense and a simpleton but he was not stupid. He knew what those words meant now.

Something that was meaningless just a second ago now felt like words that crushed him. He couldn't move, he couldn't help but stare in horror as the blades descended faster.

And faster.

And faster.

And he screamed because they were going to take away his brother. The same bother that promised. The same brother that had stupidly promised so many years ago.

_"I WILL NOT DIE!"_

No. Nonononono—Ace couldn't die! It wasn't going to end like this!

The blades came closer. Everything seemed to stop because Luffy just wanted them to stop—make everything disappear and have them go back home, happy and healthy.

Stop the nightmare. Stop the torture. Stop the cages. Just _stop. _

_Nostopnostopnostop—"STOP IT!"_

And then they fell, all his enemies. The blades stopped too, they fell, just not on his brother.

But Luffy couldn't care. His brother was still alive. He still had a change.

And the boy took that chance, even when he fell over and over again. He got back up and kept running because dammit he wasted too much time.

But the marines didn't care; some of them were still standing. Staring at him with shock. Why? Why did they look so shocked? He just told them to stop. He didn't want his brother to die. Not like Sabo. Ace wouldn't die like Sabo.

That would mean that two red cups would be empty, leaving the third one alone to carry on the dreams of his brothers. And even though he hated the idea of being alone, even if Ace did somehow die in this crazy, twisted world of cat and mouse, Luffy would live. He would live and thrive because his brothers wouldn't want him to be sad.

That wouldn't stop him form crying of course, if Ace died, then who would be there to punch him and tell him to shut up? Who would be there to sigh and pull him into a hug when he was sad even though he looked so awkward?

Who would be there to carry on the dream of being known? How would he prove that he lived? No, it wasn't over.

Ace wouldn't die.

And then the marines attacked once again with new force making it increasingly difficult to run. He didn't want to fight. He wanted his brother. He wasted his brother _free _and _safe._

Currently, he was neither.

A voice rang out on the field, but Luffy didn't register it. _"HELP STRAWHAT WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH!"_

And suddenly the path was clear; the marines were no longer in the way.

New battles raged around Luffy as he continued to run.

_Ace was right there!_

There was a path, one by that scissors guy from Impel Down. He cleared the marines and cut right threw the rock, lifting the bridge right up to the platform.

Luffy grinned at him for the briefed second, telling him something that his voice could not.

_"Thank you!"_

And he was running again, this time with jiji in his way. Luffy didn't stop. He couldn't stop. Ace was so close.

But jiji. He didn't want to fight jiji. He didn't want his grandfather to hate him even more because of this. Even though they didn't exactly get along, jiji was still Luffy's family. His _nakama. _

Even as he activated his second gear, he knew that jiji wasn't fighting. The marine was putting on a show, masking his pain. His eyes danced around in the harsh fire that surrounded them, saying something much like what Luffy had done earlier.

_"I'm sorry." _

Luffy was too, but it eased the guilt that had built in in chest as he punched his grandpa right of the bridge. Jiji wanted this too. Jiji wanted Ace to be free once again.

_"I TRAINED YOU TO BECOME A MARINE, DAMMMIT!"_

But he wasn't. Maybe if he were then this wouldn't have happened . . .? Or maybe it was unavoidable. A trick of fate that you couldn't change even if you went back in time.

He was there. He was finally there.

His brother looked shocked to see him as Luffy bent down to hug him. Tears threatened to spill, but Luffy wasn't crying any time soon. Besides, Ace wasn't free yet. He was still stuck in that emotional cage and the physical shackles.

It all happened so fast. Too fast. On moment he was fiddling with the key and the next it was out of his reach.

Then Mr. 3 came.

The Buddha.

The explosions.

The fire.

But it wasn't bad fire. It was his brother damn fire because he was finally free. . !

Then again, was this war really over yet? Or had it just begun?

* * *

**Okay! So we're going to say that the Tesseract was****_ not _****given to Thor to take to Asguard, m'kay? That would ruin the whole story. **

**_Question Time for all you readers out there!; What was your favorite part of One Piece? Favorite character?_**

I think mine was the time when they all reunited at Sabody because that was so cute and I wanted to just rip them all out of the anime and hug them. My favorite character is/was Ace obviously, followed by Luffy, Marco and Thatch.

Isn't it sad when two of the four of your favorite characters are dead?


	2. Encounter

**proof read this later ;w;**

* * *

Luffy couldn't move. Couldn't _breathe. _He could only stare on, watching as his fate approached him in the form of a magma fist.

His mind was struggling with all of its might, trying—no, _begging, _to get his body to move. To dodge. To do _something._

But it was futile and he knew that. This was his end.

Time slowed down.

His brother—his stupid, hardheaded brother that he had worked so hard to save _jumped _right in front of him, shielding him.

'Baka!' Luffy wanted to shout. Wanted to scream. But he couldn't. 'Save yourself!'

The first approached, this time slower than before.

Fire flickered along Ace's shoulders; his muscles tensed bracing himself for the impact that would no doubt take his life.

Luffy closed his eyes.

Ace closed his eyes.

And suddenly everything went black.

* * *

"Oh?" Tony Stark, genius billionaire was not someone to underestimate. He was smart, cunning and had an iron suit that could latterly blow up a building by just pointing at it. The man grinned, his hand scratching his chin. "How interesting."

Bruce Banner looked up from what he was working on, raising an eyebrow at the man. "And what might it be this time?" The man walked over to peer at the hologram that Tony had pulled up. "Have you been hacking into the S.H.E.I.L.D computers again?"

"Ah," Tony responded with a smug grin. "I have, and I found something interesting."

Not really wanting to be in Tony's shenanigans, Bruce went back to what he was doing originally. He decided to humor the man, however, and asked a simple question that he would later regret. He pushed up his glasses, spinning on his heal to lean against the table that he was working at. "What?"

"Seems like the Tesseract nearly destroyed the building that they were keeping it at," Tony informed the man, flicking the hologram in front of Bruce so he could read the article. "Fury was there too."

Bruce raised an eyebrow, reading over the information as fast as he could. "Was anyone hurt?"

Tony shrugged. "Not that I know of." He maximized his own screen for a better view of the article. "Apparently the Tesseract seemed to just go berserk. There are reports that it changed color and –"

"Sent something out of the building," Bruce read, his eyes widening. He read on, not even bothering to look at Tony anymore. His attention was solely focused on the article.

Bruce Banner was not worried easily—after all he'd seen enough shit in his life and knew how to handle it. But _this—_this wasn't something he could handle. Scenarios kept going through his head, some good, some not quite so good.

What if it was another invasion? They barley stopped the last one, how would they stop another one? The government would probably send the nuke this time and not fail. Last time they were luck, next time; the world might end as they know it.

He _hoped _that it was nothing, though he seriously doubted it. The Tesseract was know as a bridge between worlds and so far, hasn't reacted to much of anything. To make something like the Tesseract react must be insanely powerful.

"The force alone was able to send three men sprawling," Bruce continued to read, forcing his inner argument down for the time being. "A red light was seen streaking out of the building right as everyone was evacuating. It broke most of the windows and part of a laboratory door." He frowned as he read the next part. "It left burn marks wherever it went, much like a fire would."

Tony nudged him, much to Bruce's distain. "Do you think Fury'll have us track it down?"

Bruce shook his head, closing the program. "I doubt it. Fury probably already has some agents out looking for where it landed—_if _it landed at all."

Tony snorted, leaving Bruce's side and going back to his screen to see if there were any more details. "Aww, come on. Lighten up!" He laughed. "This could be the chance for the avengers to get back in action."

Bruce frowned at him. "We practically live in your living room."

Tony rolled his eyes. "That's not the point." He closed the screen completely, leaning against the table. "My point is that we haven't fought together in ages! I mean, when's the last time we've all suited up?" He didn't wait for Bruce's reply. "I haven't used my Iron Man suit in _ages. _It's been sitting—"

Tony was interrupted by the door of the lab slamming open and Natasha walking inside in all of her glory. She flicker her hair over her shoulder, her eyes narrowing. "Fury wants to see us." She noticed Tony's expression. "_All _of us, Stark. He called a meeting for the Avengers." Allowing a smirk on her face she turned around. "Seems like we have a little mission to complete."

* * *

"Let's get down to business," Fury stated through the blue hologram, causing heads to turn. Of course, he wasn't able to come in person, being a super spy and all. "_Some _of you might know this already," His eye flickered to Tony for a brief second, disapproval mirrored in his pupils. "But something grave has happened recently at the building where the Tesseract was being held."

The Avengers looked at each other, knowing that anything involving the Tesseract was bad news. Tony and Bruce, however, knew exactly were this conversation was going. Tony sent Bruce a smug look, knowing that he was right and that Fury was going to send them to find the source.

"The Tesseract reacted to something," Fury continued on in the same, monotone voice. "It turned a bloody red and send a beam of light out of the building. My agents have tracked it down to where it landed."

"You want us to go check it out," Steve stated, his eyes widening a bit.

"Yes," Fury said curtly. "I am not risking my agents lives. You all are the strongest group on this planet—if you can't handle whatever this is, then no one can and we will have to take some desperate measures."

"And what if we find nothing?" Natasha leaned forward, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Then you will report to me immediately," The super spy responded. "I doubt that you'll find nothing, however. The Tesseract is basically pure energy. I would don't react to just anything."

"And the Tesseract?" Thor said, staring at the screen in front of him while absent-mindedly munching on a pop tart. "Is it still reacting?"

"According to the scientists in the building, it's stable." Fury said. "Though I doubt it will last long." There was some beeping on the other side of the screen and suddenly a map appeared in front of all the avengers. The map zoomed in to a small field just outside of New York. "This is where we tracked down the blast." He glared at everyone around the table. "Find out who it is and what it wants _now."_

With that, the screen went blank.

* * *

By the time they reached the site of the blast, it was already dark. Tony was hot, sweaty, hungry and overall uncomfutable. They were all having to use flashlight, minus Thor who was just trailing along after them, keeping a close eye on all the surrondings.

They were all on edge, including Tony. He half expected an alien army to jump out at them and attack. It didn't help that there was a light breeze that night, making the corn that surronded them rustl and howl.

The Iron Man suit that he was wearing should've helped calm his nerves, knowing that he could defend himself, but it didn't. Tony _hated _surprise attacks almost as much as he hated a flat soda.

"We're almost there,"Natasha informed them, though she didn't say how much longer 'almost' was. Tony had jokingly said that Natasha's definition of almost was a _little _rusty and he had said that there was going to be another mile of nothing but cornfeilds.

They could practically feel the energy radiate from the ground as they drew near. Tony could now make out the shape of—was that a crater?—in the ground less than a hundered feet away. The man wrinkled his nose as it caught a scent that he least expected in a area like this.

_Burning rubber. _

Tony could also smell the other scents in the air—none of them were pleasant. Blood was evident even if they could hardly make out the dark red splotches in the ground. The weight on Tony's chest lifted a little bit, at least eh creature was hopefully injured, right? Or it might be the blood of it's victims . . .

"Stay close," Bruce advised, clenching his hand, ready to shift forms if necessary. They didn't want to bring out the Hulk unless it was absolutely necessary. The mission was supposed to be simple. Just investigate and fight—if necessary—whatever the Tesseract sent to Earth.

The dirt crunched under Tony's Iron Man boot, making dull footstep sounds. Everything in this dark cornfield was rather ominous. From the wind to the complete and utter silence.

_Nothing was friendly._

The ground started to incline as the reached the base of the crater. It wasn't _huge, _but it was still big enough for a large meteor, almost twenty feet across. Tony had seen bigger craters in the battle of New York.

Steam rose out of the hole, creating a fog so the Avengers couldn't quite see what was down there. Tony leaned forward, only to take back when he heard a groan of pain.

_Alive._

Clint had already notched an arrow, waiting for something to come out of the hole. After all, you could never be too careful. They had all learn that getting cocky isn't the best situation in a fight.

Tony took a step forward, ignoring the feeling of _wrongness _in his stomach. The steam cleared out a little and he could see black outlines—something that looked like a blob. He squinted, eyebrows furrowing. Just what was this thing?

He took another few steps forward when the thing didn't even stir. The lines were getting more and more clear and he could see what looked likes clothes. If he squinted, he could see how the blob might be a person.

No. Wait.

_Two people._

And now he was confused all over again.

Feeling a bit more confident, Tony strode forward with Natasha at his side. Suddenly, the steam cleared fully and they could see the two people for the first time.

They were kids, obviously; one of the looking no older than seventeen. Both were rather skinny but had good muscles on them. They were covered in dirt, grime and blood was everywhere. Their injuries looked bad enough to kill a normal person.

The youngest from the looks of it had it off worse, completely covered in what looked like sword wounds, burns and other injuries that seemed practically impossible to get. His raven hair was in his eyes and he was gently breathing making Tony breathe out a silent sigh of relief.

The other was also breathing but it was much more labored. He was covered in more burns that anything else, especially his hand. It looked like the kid had stuck his hand in a volcano of lava.

_It wasn't that far from the truth._

"Kids?" Steve said dumfounded, looking as Natasha checked their pulse. "What the hell are kids doing here?"

"The question we need to answer is how are they mixed up with the Tesseract?" Bruce stated. "What good are two half-dead kids?"

Clint sighed and put his arrow back into its proper place. "What will we do with them?"

Natasha turned to him, eye full of the determination that Tony wished he had. "We take them back of course." She smirked. "What harm could they do? I doubt they can even open their eyes."

_A lot more than anyone thought. _

* * *

**thoughts anyone? Rather lazy and shit and I can't wait to introduce Luffy & Ace to the Avengers. Ahh so much chaos. **


End file.
